There have been some truly memorable nights in Piraeus were even the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Juventus were forced to bow down before the Champions of Greece…
As someone who was practically raised inside the ruins of the old ‘Karaiskakis’ stadium by my late father, then later brought to the Olympic Stadium of Athens where the Olympiacos football club would go on to play the rest of their games until finally moving to their renovated home ground Piraeus — with a small break at Rizoupoli — in which they remain until today, moving to Australia was like having a part of myself being ripped away.
Being so far away from the team, unable to attend the games and see the players up close, is very difficult and only someone with a real passion for a sport and a team they grew up with can begin to understand. You don’t choose them, they stay with you, for the good times and the bad. Like a child or a sibling. You always want them to do well and through their success, you feel a strong sense of pride. Introducing me to this club was the one great thing my father left me with before passing away.
And the times this pride hit its peak is when I would see them doing well against the greatest opponents the sport has to offer. When they would face all the highly advertised Arsenals and Real Madrids and Dortmunds of the world and…
